Black Humour
"Black comedy...also known as 'black humour' or 'dark comedy', is a sub-genre of comedy and satire where topics and events that are usually treated seriously – death, mass murder, sickness, madness, terror, drug abuse, rape, war etc - are treated in a humorous or satirical manner." - Wikipedia
Good Stuff! Alice's dark comedy delights await below.
Distant ( aka Uzak ) (2003)
7.7/10
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Starring: Mehmet Emin Yoprak, Muzaffer Ozdemir
Mahmut is a 40-year-old independent photographer living in Istanbul, and in a deep existential depression following his wife's departure. He's used t... Read more
Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
7.3/10
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Luis Guzman
This change of pace for Adam Sandler stars the comic actor as a bathroom supplies salesman who has a problem with his anger and is obsessed with winni... Read more
True Romance (1993)
7.9/10
Director: Tony Scott
Starring: Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Gary Oldman
Another explosive cocktail from the pen of Quentin Tarantino ('Reservoir Dogs', 'Pulp Fiction'). This is a 90's twist on the young lovers-on-the-lam g... Read more
The Piano Teacher (2001)
7.5/10
Director: Michael Haneke
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Annie Girardot, Benoit Magimel
"The Piano Teacher" is a powerful and controversial new drama from the award winning filmmaker Michael Haneke ("Funny Games"). Isabelle Huppert ("8 Wo... Read more
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014)
7/10
Director: Roy Andersson
Starring: Holger Andersson, Nils Westblom, Charlotta Larsson, Viktor Gyllenberg
The deeply eccentric Roy Anderssons meticulously mounted comic sketches move from historic fantasy to hilariously deadpan humour as he muses on human... Read more
Secretary (2002)
7/10
Director: Steven Shainberg
Starring: James Spader, Jeremy Davies, Lesley Ann Warren, Patrick Bauchau, Maggie Gyllenha...
Fresh off a stint in a mental hospital, upbeat but repressed office worker Maggie Gyllenhaal takes a job as personal assistant to tightly-wound lawyer... Read more
I Heart Huckabees (2004)
6.7/10
Director: David O Russell
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Huppert, Jude Law, Jason Schwartzman, Lily Tomlin, Mark...
An exuberant offbeat comedy in which Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin play existential detectives hired by kindhearted local poet and activist Albert Ma... Read more
Oldboy (2003)
8.4/10
Director: Chan-wook Park
Starring: Min-sik Choi, Hye-jeong Kang, Ji-tae Yu
Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) has been imprisoned in a room for 15 years with no explanation when, barely sane, he is released. Thrown back into the world... Read more
Secrets and Lies (1996)
7.7/10
Director: Mike Leigh
Starring: Brenda Blethyn, Phyllis Logan, Timothy Spall, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Claire Rus...
A 27 year old black London Optometrist decides to seek out the woman who gave her up for adoption after she was born. The search leads to a surprising... Read more
The Big Lebowski (1998)
8.1/10
Director: Joel Coen
Starring: David Huddleston, Peter Stormare, Steve Buscemi, Sam Elliott, Philip Seymour Hof...
A comedy about kidnapping, nihilism, the Gulf War and bowling, courtesy of Joel and Ethan Coen. Jeff Bridges plays Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, a middle-... Read more